


Treading

by artifactstorageroom3_archivist



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Established Relationship, Ficlet, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-06-28
Updated: 2009-06-28
Packaged: 2019-06-13 03:23:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15355131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artifactstorageroom3_archivist/pseuds/artifactstorageroom3_archivist
Summary: Jim and Blair get into a spat over getting a spare tire for Blair's car.





	Treading

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Elaine, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Artifact Storage Room 3](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Artifact_Storage_Room_3) and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Artifact Storage Room 3’s collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/artifactstorageroom3/profile).
> 
>  **Author's notes:** This was written in response to sentinel_thurs challenge #287 – Spare Time. Yes, I completely took the challenge the wrong way. Spare Time – get it?

Blair stared forlornly down at his wallet then up at his partner’s granite expression.

“Jim,” he began.

“No, Chief. This is for your own good. It is time for a new spare, and you need a good one. Patch jobs are mostly worthless,” Jim interrupted sternly before Blair had even started in on his argument.

“But, but it’s a spare, man. You don’t use them to drive on, and it’s my money anyway. What is this? The fascist state of Ellison?”

“You need something reliable, Sandburg. What good is having a spare tire if it’s just as bad as the one you just took off the car?” Jim replied completely ignoring the second half of Blair’s sentence.

“My. Money.” Blair stated firmly.

“My. Partner.” Jim countered softly with pleading eyes.

“Dammit Jim,” Blair exhaled in a frustrated breath.

“I just want you to be safe, Chief. It’s better to spend the extra money and get something trustworthy than waste money on something else.”

“Man, I’ve got four new tires on her right now. They’re good. I don’t really have to get a new spare right now. In fact, if you’d let me keep one of the old tires…”

“Those old tires did not have sufficient tread on them. Were you looking for an accident? This is Cascade, you need good, dependable tread in the rain,” Jim admonished.

“You’re not my mother, man,” Blair contested hotly.

“No, if I was Naomi, I’d be calling you right now because my latest psychic friend saw you stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire and a flat spare,” Jim shot back easily.

Blair rolled his eyes in disgust, “If you’re so hell bent on this, why don’t you buy it then!”

He recognized his mistake the instant that the corner of Jim’s mouth twitched a fraction of an inch.

“You know I’d be happy to help you out, Chief,” Jim quickly replied as his hand shot into his back pocket for his wallet. Swiftly, he began to make his way out of the fan belt section of the store towards the counter where the mechanic was waiting patiently for them to finish their argument.

“Jim,” Blair hissed as his face flushed with embarrassment, “we talked about this.”

“No. You dictated, and I obeyed,” Jim countered as he handed his debit card over to the cashier.

“This does not look like obedience to me,” Blair growled.

The lady perusing the steering wheel covers almost gave herself whiplash as she turned her shocked stare towards Blair.

Blushing even harder when he realized how his words had been taken, he waved a little at her, then turned to glare at Jim who was now grinning like a loon.

“I’m glad you find my discomfort amusing,” he fumed in response to the taller man’s grin.

“Oh, yeah, I’m enjoying it greatly,” Jim deadpanned as he signed his name to the small paper slip that the cashier had handed him.

“This is so embarrassing,” Blair moaned as Jim took his copy of the receipt and agreed to let the mechanic put the new spare into the car for them.

Jim chose not to respond, instead thanking the cashier and heading out the door. Blair trailed after him miserably.

“This just sucks,” Blair muttered.

Jim halted in his tracks when he heard the shop door close behind Blair. He took a deep breath and turned around to face his partner.

“Look, Blair, this… I’m hurt here. I want to do nice things for you. I’m – I love you, and you just… Ah forget it,” Jim turned away and continued his trek towards the garage.

Blair felt a twinge of sadness slip in when he saw the hurt look on Jim’s face. Quickening his stride, he grabbed Jim’s arm before the other man could get too far ahead.

“Hey,” he said softly when Jim kept staring steadfastly ahead.

“What?” Jim’s tone tried to be neutral, but the hurt filtered into it.

“This isn’t… man, I know how you feel. I do. But you’ve got to remember that I’m not wired like you are. I can’t just let you pick the tab up for me here.”

“I would’ve done it for Caro. Hell, it would’ve been expected of me, and you won’t…” Jim trailed off as his jaw clenched spastically.

Blair sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, “Caroline was raised a little differently than I was.”

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t find that particularly reassuring given Naomi’s track record with relationships.”

“What do you want me to do here?” Blair asked plaintively, just wanting the fight to be over.

“I want you to let me take care of you the way that a husband should. I want to be able to buy you nice things without you making me feel like some sort of villain. I want you to let me love you, because who the hell else is going to let me if you don’t? There are a thousand different people out there that don’t want me taking good care of you. If I want resistance to our relationship, I’ll go ask them.”

“This isn’t about that,” Blair insisted.

“Yeah, well, for me it is,” Jim replied as his gaze finally settled on the younger man. “I understand that you were raised to be independent, and not be reliant on any one lover. But I’m not just your lover, Blair. I’m your spouse, or as close to one as I can be.”

Blair smiled softly at the look in Jim’s eyes, the one that glowed with love even while hurt and fear roiled at the surface. Now that he was paying attention to his partner’s gaze, the fear was astonishingly easy to identify. It was the same old fear of rejection that Jim still wore around his father and his brother. It was the one that spoke of his belief that he wasn’t good enough, that the freak couldn’t be relied on to do things the right way.

It twisted at Blair’s heart that he had put that look back into Jim’s eyes, but he was relieved at the same time. This was one instance where he could kiss it and make it all better.

“Okay,” he whispered softly.

Jim’s forehead crinkled in confusion, “Okay?”

“I can do that,” Blair qualified.

Jim smiled tentatively, “You can?”

“Yeah, well, I’m your husband too aren’t I? I’ve gotta take care of you. If that means I have to let you spend a little money on me, then I’m going to have to live with it.”

Jim reached out and squeezed his partner’s shoulder in lieu of the kiss that he would’ve bestowed had they not been in public. Blair could see that the fear, as he had hoped, had been banished and that contentment now resided in its place.

Punching Jim lightly on the bicep, Blair moved away and continued their walk to the garage so that he could finally pick up his car, complete with five new tires.


End file.
